Pros
1) Pays what you'd make if you were on unemployment, so you’re not sitting around the house watching Jerry Springer all day. 2) You’re the boss you decide the route, just keep the tickets current and you will not hear from the company. 3) Paid weekly. 4) Ordering supplies, batteries, paint, paper, and toner is easy enough but you will have to store it all at your house. 5) Hours are 8:00am to 4:30pm, 8:00am-9:00am screening tickets at home with half hour for lunch. 6) You don’t need an alarm clock you’ll start getting emergency tickets at 7 am. Emergency tickets are paid at double time. Paid 15 minutes to screen a ticket at double time or if you have to respond from door to door at double time. This is how you’ll make money with this company with emergency tickets. A large percentage of the tickets can be screen out and there is no reason for you to respond but corporate has no clue. So if you’ve got a ticket with a utility in the vicinity you can easily respond and bill the company for a “site visit” to make extra money. This is how you’ll make money working for Stake. 7) If you respond to a ticket you will be paid a 2 hours minimum pay @ double time even if it takes you 1 hour to go to an emergency ticket. 8) Thanksgiving bonus is a coupon for 20.00 towards a turkey or ham.
Cons
1) Poor medical plan, wellness plan doctor visits only covered does not include emergency room visits. 2) Vacation time (1 week) after 1 year of service. 3) Don't get paid for holidays. 4) No bonus for hiring. 5) Holidays are determined by the company, Thanksgiving you’ll be off Thursday and Friday with no pay. You cannot work Friday to get the 8 hours straight time. 6) GPS units are on the truck to track the truck and your time. The company looks at idle time/stops in the day and leaving your house at 9:00am and returning at 4:30pm. 7) Hours are always an issue if you’re not checking your paycheck weekly you’ll get shorted pay. And questioning your hours on a paycheck will fall on deaf ears in the accounting department. 8) You will end up working for free at times screening tickets at home to keep up. 10) GPS not provided for the driver to find locations you will have provide your own GPS. 11) No training for locating equipment. 12) Equipment subpar. 13) On call 24/7 due to the fact you might be the only one in your area remember Stake is in Utah and you might be the only locator the company has hired in your state! So be prepared to see more of your state. 14) You’re on your own with mark-outs don't expect a lot of help from the office. Mark outs for railroads or a turnpike where you need identification is not provided by Stake. Stakes policy is don’t get caught, lots of fiber runs along railroad tracks! 15) Your home will become the “office” you will have to store 30 cases of paint, case of paper, toner cartridge, all manuals and boxes from any equipment. 16) No certification to work on or around trains or major highways, but asked to mark out on tracks and major highways. Amtrak will take you off the tracks in cuffs if your caught marking out with no ID. 17) They don’t use a fleet service! You need to call the office for authorization/PO# and the manager running the fleet is not a pleasant guy. I have had complaints from the dealers about being talked to rudely and called names. This is an issue when you’re trying to build a relationship with a dealership that you will have to use every 5000 miles for an oil change. Jiffy Lube isn’t making that much changing your oil to be berated by a fleet manger they will tell you to take your business elsewhere here on the East Coast. 18) The corporate office (brick and mortar building) is in Utah. Outside of Utah the truck is the office in that state. 19) The software you will use to record the tickets is Stake Center software. The software is a “work in progress” with plenty of “bugs” still being worked out. 20) Other software you’ll be using Thunderbird, Firefox, AVG Virus Protection/free version, all free and there are reasons why some software is free. You’ll also have G-Mail account not a company address. 21) Must have all your info filled out in the field before you pull into your driveway. Once you’re in your drive way and the GPS has your position that’s the end of your day even if you still have 5-10 minutes worth of paperwork tickets, truck reports, etc. You’ll figure this out quickly every Friday you must take pictures of the vehicle and fill out a truck sheet and attach the pictures to the truck sheet, make sure to do it Friday morning when you’re in the field if you forget and drive home you’ll be doing it on your own time.